Real estate-related investment funds reached the highest-ever total of 69.97 trillion won ($62.97 billion) as of the end of August, continuing the streak of monthly increases for nearly three years, data showed Monday.

Records from the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Investment Association showed that the spike in property funds clearly exceeded that of other types of funds.

While the money flowing to real estate funds jumped 30.9 percent last year, the comparable figures were 5.7 percent for stock funds and minus 8.3 percent for bond funds. The overall increase in funds investment last year was 6 percent.

(Yonhap)

Data shows that the real estate funds total has been increasing monthly since September 2015, when it recorded 33.41 trillion won.

Real estate investment trusts also grew to a new record of 233.2 trillion won as of the end of June. The amount follows annual increases from 147.3 trillion won at the end of 2013 to 153 trillion won in 2014, 171.5 trillion in 2015, 187.5 trillion won in 2016 and 215.2 trillion won at the end of last year.

Whereas investment trusts grew 8.3 percent on average last year, those for real estate gained 14.8 percent. The trend is being repeated in the first half of this year, with the total for real estate rising 8.4 percent compared to 5.8 percent overall, according to the data.

Issuance of mortgage-backed securities reached 31.7 trillion won in 2017, a decrease of over 10 percent compared to the previous year, as the government reined in on home loans. The total, however, is still larger compared to 14.7 trillion won in 2014. (Yonhap)